Acts 7:1-53

7 Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”

2 To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. 3 ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’[a]

4 “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 5 He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. 6 God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. 7 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’[b] 8 Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

9 “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him 10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.

11 “Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. 12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. 13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. 15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. 16 Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.

17 “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. 18 Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’[c] 19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.

20 “At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child.[d] For three months he was cared for by his family. 21 When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. 22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

23 “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’

27 “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28 Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’[e] 29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.

30 “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31 When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’[f] Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.

33 “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’[g]

35 “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness.

37 “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’[h] 38 He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us.

39 “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. 40 They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’[i] 41 That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. 42 But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets:

“‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings
    forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?
43 You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek
    and the star of your god Rephan,
    the idols you made to worship.
Therefore I will send you into exile’[j] beyond Babylon.

44 “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. 45 After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, 46 who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.[k] 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.

48 “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:

49 “‘Heaven is my throne,
    and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me?
says the Lord.
    Or where will my resting place be?
50 Has not my hand made all these things?’[l]

51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

- Acts 7:1-53

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Here Stephen gives the longest discourse throughout the entire books of Acts. He is defending himself against claims of speaking blasphemy against Moses and God by Jewish leaders and elders. And his defense starts with a history lesson. Stephen tells the stories of the famous Old Testament figures including Abraham, Jacob, Joseph and Moses. It almost seems kind of confusing as to why he's doing this, telling Jewish people who know the Old Testament really well about seemingly basic people from the Old Testament. But he makes sense of this at the end saying that the people of Israel has continuously disobeyed God by rejecting appointed leaders. They rejected Joseph by selling him into slavery, rejected Moses before their exodus from Egypt and during with the golden calf, and even rejecting the Promised Land by worshiping other gods. Stephen continues on saying the history continues to repeat itself as the Jewish people not only rejected those predicting the Messiah, but they rejected (and killed) the Messiah himself! He's saying their rejection of him is nothing new, it's just their repeated rebellion of God to reject appointed leaders.

The emphasis on history, and the repetition of it, here can be very relatable to us. First, knowing the history of our own faith, specifically the Old Testament, is really important. There's a reason why the bible isn't just the New Testament, the history of Israel helps put into context everything Jesus did and provides a broader perspective of it all. We get more insight on the characteristics of God and more figures to learn from. If Stephen's summaries of things in the Old Testament intrigues you and you haven't read Genesis or Exodus yet, go read them!

But an even more direct way we can apply history in our lives is to study our own, personal history. Maybe it's weird to call our couple of tens of years of living "history." However, by looking back on our previous actions we learn how to grow as Christians. Let's not wait for someone like Stephen to call us out on all the repeated mistakes we've made in the past, let's reflect on them ourselves. If you know a game gets you uncontrollably angry, maybe don't play that game. If a certain person keeps tempting you to do unholy things, maybe stay away from them. It doesn't just have to be negative things, we can reflect on what works for us too. If a certain schedule of devotionals worked for you in the past, maybe consider going back to it now. Looking back on the history of ourselves can help us grow as Christians in the future.

Acts 6:8-15

8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.

11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”

12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

-Acts 6:8-15

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Similar to other passages in Acts, this passage depicts an instance in which a follower of Christ goes through something similar to what Jesus experienced. In this case, Stephen was challenged and eventually arrested by those opposed to Jesus's teachings, similar to what Jesus experienced when he was on Earth during his ministry.

Furthermore, we can draw some parallels from a few chapters back in which Peter and John were being challenged as they were teaching. Similar to that event, we read here that Stephen was being opposed by people trying to undermine his teachings, but the Holy Spirit gave Stephen tremendous wisdom that opposition could not stand up against him, so much they had to use secret methods and false witnesses to get what they wanted. Regardless, the Holy Spirit in Stephen still prevailed and displayed His power by having Stephen's face shine "like the face of an angel".

Even though these events would lead to Stephen's demise as we will read in the next chapter, they were not in vain. God was able to use Stephen in a tremendous way in which he was able to preach and spread the gospel even under the pressure and attacks by the members of the Synagogue. Through the power and guidance of the Spirit, Stephen was able to maintain his faith, even up to the point of death.

As Christians, we can be encouraged by these events and previous Christians like Stephen and how God worked through them. The Spirit inside us is powerful, and we can be encouraged that He will guide us even during attacks from people opposing Jesus's teachings, or even from the devil himself. It is inevitable that we will face difficulties and opposition from people, but we need to have faith during those times and remember that God is above everything and will help us in difficult situations.

Acts 6:1-7

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

-Acts 6:1-7

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Racism is not a new issue.  We see back in the day of the early church they also struggled with racism.  Some of the Greek Christians were accusing the Jewish Christians of being overlooked by the church’s welfare system.

What’s the solution?  They picked godly men who would rise above the racist attitudes of the day to serve both the Greek Christians and the Jewish Christians.  Laws that prevent racist acts are great.  But what’s even better is the Spirit of God changing people’s hearts to be less racist.  We don’t just need laws, we need heart surgery and only God can change hearts.

For those of you who have been posting about racial justice, and going to marches, and discussing social justice issues with others, have you been praying?  Have you asked the Lord of the Universe to change people’s hearts?  Are you trusting in imperfect human wisdom and ingenuity over God’s power to change hearts?

Acts 5:17-42

17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. 20 “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”

21 At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.

When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. 22 But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, 23 “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 24 On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to.

25 Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” 26 At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.

27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

33 When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. 35 Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

40 His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

-Acts 5:17-42

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Why is it that the priests/Sadducees/Jewish officials are always trying to get in the way of God? (Sadducees were Jews who did not believe in Jesus, his resurrection, and the Holy Spirit. All Jews believed in God, though.) First, they tried so hard to kill Jesus and in the end, they got what they wanted. Now, they are trying to get Jesus' disciples, the apostles. Why do they not understand that Jesus was the Messiah and let them be? When will they ever stop following these old traditional laws and realize what God really wants from them?

As we read about Peter and the other apostles in Acts, they seem much different from the person they were back in Mark and other gospels. We see their character development after Jesus' crucifixion, which I guess really opened their eyes. Now Peter is a changed man and he basically 100% believes everything Jesus spoke to him about and continues to do his work diligently for God. He's so devoted that there is no wavering feeling or betrayal coming from him anymore. I like seeing this version of Peter and this is who we should want to be like. As Christians on this earth, God eventually wants us to be someone like Peter. Someone who is a believer, an obedient follower, and a human who goes around sharing the good news about Jesus.

I admire the faithfulness and obedience of the apostles. They went all the way to jail but still showed determination to speak about Jesus wherever they were. They had the courage to even talk about Jesus in front of the Sanhedrin, which they were arrested for in the first place. We should strive to have the same faithfulness that the apostles show in this passage. As Christians and people who read the bible, we should take what we learn and talk about it openly with the people around us including the non-believers.

Eventually, they got one of the Pharisees, Gamaliel, to see the bigger picture and convince the Sanhedrin to let them out of jail. Gamaliel, who was a smart Jew, was on the side of the priests. He would have wanted to arrest and kill the apostles as well. But, he looked at the situation in a different perspective. He realized maybe the apostles really are doing what God wants and in the end, they would only be fighting God. He figured it's best to let them do their thing because that is better than opposing God and facing the consequences.

I think this whole passage is another miracle and testament to God's amazing presence in our lives. God was with the apostles the whole time and protected them by getting them out of jail. His mission is greater than anyone else's secular priorities. Now the teaching and proclaiming of the Gospel continues on.